The Splendid Tabla - Indian Classics & Japan Relief

The tabla evokes and invokes. It can playfully mimic a cricket bowler’s moves or capture the sensual arc of deer’s leap. Now a familiar sound in the West thanks to lightning-fast masters like Zakir Hussain and innovators like Talvin Singh, the essential Indian classical instrument was traditionally on the sidelines, its emotional power harnessed to support other performers.

No longer. Tabla comes center stage in the hands of the young, highly trained players of Tālavya, a quartet that revels in the tabla’s hidden potency as a rhythmic and melodic instrument capable of expressing just about anything. Touring North America in spring 2011, the ensemble, formerly known as Tabla Ecstasy, distills the age-old spirit and practice of tabla into a high-energy, highly accessible evening that reveals the instrument’s true joys. Playing at Jain Center of Souther California on April 15th, located at 8032 Commonweath Ave in LA, tickets are only $20.

The ensemble will be joined by accomplished Kathak (North Indian classical) dancer Jin (JoungJin) Won, who is also a tabla player, storyteller, and teacher, for several performances, reflecting the deep unity of music and movement in Indian tradition.

It’s not uncommon to catch audience members—from teenage hipsters to cosmopolitan professionals—bopping along to the pulse, or in tears or in awe after the hour-and-a-half-long journey through different tempos and timbres.